Shadowrun

Words cannot express how excited am that Augment magazine is a real thing! Augment, Spring 2083 done. You can pre-order it now and pre-orders are love. I’m so proud of this magazine. As the managing editor of it, I know how hard everyone has worked on it.

You don’t need to know a thing about Shadowrun to enjoy it. But, if you are a Shadowrun player, this is a prop, supplement, and fun reading all in one. It will be released on 14 Feb in ebook and physical POD as a digest magazine.

Augment your life with Augment magazine! 

Augment is Shadowrun’s official magazine. This is a fully in-universe publication, and can be used in Shadowrun games as well as enjoyed by the casual reader.

Augment, Spring 2083. Magic is in the air and within the pages of this issue. Learn words of wisdom in an exclusive one-on-one interview with VIP CEO Michael Bishop. Listen to DJ Smash and Will-o-Wisp as they share their insight into the combination of magic, machine, and music. Discover how runestorms are endangering the Caribbean. Enjoy reviews of new products, clothing, tech, and so much more!

—

Real world column authors include: Marie Bilodeau, Aaron Rosenberg, Bryan CP Steele, Brandon O’Brien, Bryan Young, Michael A. Stackpole, RJ Thomas, and Jennifer Brozek. SINless Secrets by Dylan Birtolo, Jason M Hardy, Jaym Gates, Bryan CP Steele, and Crystal Frasier.

Cover art by Ron Sanders.

Interior art by Jeff Porter, Bruno Balixa, Marco Pennacchietti, Jose-Luis Segura, Mia Steingräber, Andrew Lowry, Lukasz Matuszek, Brenton Smith, Lara Baron Ortega, Elizabeth Galindorf, and Kat Hardy.

Loren L. Coleman, Publisher; John Helfers, Executive Editor; Jennifer Brozek, Managing Editor; Art Direction, Kat Hardy; David A. Kerber, Layout and Graphic Design

(I am so very busy. I’m sorry. This is all I had time to do. At least they are pretty images and informative, too!)

2025 is going to be one of those transitional years in my life. Several long running projects will end and several new projects will begin. So, what do I have planned? (Note: everything listed in this post is subject to change without warning—such is the Way of the Freelancer.)

Professionally: It is all project-based. And most of it will be in editing. A lot of it will be for CGL, but I do have a couple of other freelance clients I’m working with. I will do some writing as well. Maybe some more voice acting/narration.

For Catalyst, in specific…

• Augment magazine, issues 1-4, will be released.
• I’ve also got the Shadowrun novella line to take care of.
• And, on the schedule, at least one more Shadowrun anthology. 
• Also, there’s a couple of BattleTech things on my plate to edit and write.
• Not to mention finishing Shadowrun: Imre Grey and, at least starting Shadowrun: Elf in White.

For me, personally: I plan to self-release several projects in 2025.

• First, we will finish up “Dear Penpal, Belgium 1980.” Then I will have to decide if I want to write the next of those. I won’t do it in actual physical letters, but if “Dear Penpal, Pennsylvania 1984” happens, it will still be an epistolary work vaguely based on my life as a teenager.
• Second, I will release a small fiction collection of my original Tales of the Hucked Tankard (from Campaign Magazine), including the unreleased story and a second original “twenty years later” story.
• Third, I’ve got plans to update Industry Talk to Industry Talk Revised: 15 Years Later. A lot has happened in the last 15 years. Some of my advice has changed. Some has not. But I think I have a lot more to say than I did last time.

Convention Travel… I plan to limit my travel a lot. Gen Con, my main industry convention, and Worldcon Seattle 2025. That’s it. That’s all I currently have on the docket for work travel.

On the Homefront, I only have three specific desires this year: Decluttering, less time online, and finishing unfinished books.

• Decluttering: “I need to declutter.” I’ve been saying this for 3 years now. This year, with the help of the Husband, we’ve decided to gamify the project and tackle it together. I broke the house out into 36 projects, wrote them down, and put them into a wooden chest. Each week, we will pull one out and do it. I think this will work. I hope it will. I can feel the weight of things on my shoulders.
• Unfinished Books: In 2024 (and 2023, 2022…), I started reading various novels, novellas, collections, and graphic stories. For whatever reason (work, distraction, exhaustion, travel, etc…), these books have not been finished. I spend too much time online. I want to remedy that. I declare 2025 to be the Year of the Unfinished Book. I will keep track of every book I read by category (Unfinished, New, Work), and publish it at the end of the year. Hopefully, this will convince me to renew my reading habit.
• One day off the internet per week: I think I’m going to see if I can take one day a week off the internet. The world will survive one day without me looking at email. I just need to figure out which day of the week it will be. (Probably Sunday—the day I have no scheduled meetings nor other online commitments–except for the “Dear Penpal” zoom calls.)

Overall, the thing I want to do most in 2025 is to be gentle with myself. To stop yelling at myself for “failing” whatever arbitrary goal I had set. I don’t have high hopes for the next 4 years as it is. Thus, I will be doing what I can to care for myself, my friends and family, and my local community.

But, as always, I will keep track of my metrics. (If you would like a copy of my blank 2025 Freelancer Summary document, contact me. I will send it to you.)

One last thought. I don’t make “resolutions” (noun: a decision to do something or to behave in a certain manner). The term isn’t for me. I plan. Complete with specific steps to accomplish that plan. Either I execute the plan or I don’t. I know it’s all semantics, but “resolutions” feels a bit wishy-washy to me.

That’s it. Doable goals with specific plans for 2025.

Here’s the numbers. We all love numbers so much.

• Books published: 2, Shadowrun: Auditions and Shadowrun: The Mosaic Run
• Anthologies published: 3, 99 Fleeting Fantasies, Shadowrun: Magic, Machines, and Mayhem (co-edited with John Helfers), and Shadowrun: Through the Decades (co-edited with John Helfers)
• Short stories published: 4, “Eye of the Beholder” (co-written with Raven Oak), “Hella AFK”, “A Tale for Munchausen’s Merriment”, and “Dueling Minstrels” (co-written with Marie Bilodeau)

• New words written: 105,830
• Words edited: 441,00+

• Awards nominated for: 2 (both Scribe awards)
• Awards won: 1 (Won the Scribe award for Shadowrun: Auditions)

• Stories submitted: 12
• Stories sold: 6 (50%)
• Stories rejected: 4 (33%)
• Stories outstanding: 2 (17%)

Thoughts about the numbers:

• I’m pleased with the number of things that were published. It’s nice to have new novels and stories out in the wild.
• You’ll note that I did a LOT more editing this year. Gotta pay the bills. The Husband has retired from tech.
• The Scribe award nominations and win were very nice. I appreciate being acknowledged by my peers.
• As for the stories submitted and sold/rejected…I really am on target with that one. My acceptance rate hovers around 50%. This year I made my 100+ short story sale. That was cool.

I don’t really have a lot to say about the metrics for this year. I’m fine with them. They’re respectable for a full time publishing professional. With the Shadowrun magazine coming out next year and being an editor-at-large for CGL, my editing numbers will not be going down. That does cut into the writing schedule. But I’ve got my plans for next year—which I will talk about in the next blog. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures of my cats.

I hope you have had a very good holiday season!

While I was in Canada, I discovered there were two very interesting book bundles being sold. One that has my books in it. One that does not.

Ending on 30 November 2024, the first is the Shadowrun Fiction Mega Bundle, run by Humble Bundle. It supports the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, which is pretty cool. (Note: Donation proceeds will be provided to the Binc Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing financial assistance to booksellers and comic sellers, their employees, and their families, in times of crisis.)

More importantly to me, this book bundle contains every novel and novella I’ve written for Shadowrun! So, if you’re missing any of my Shadowrun fiction, this is a very good time to get it. Plus it’s got so much more Shadowrun goodness from old authors and new!

***

Next up we have: The Never Too Old to Save the World Bundle.

Curated on StoryBundle by Marie Bilodeau (who will have a Tell Me on the blog shortly.)

Ending on 21 November 2024, Marie has put together 10 books of middle-aged heroines and heroes who claim and keep their power. Saving the world isn’t just a young orphan’s game anymore. This bundle looks fantastic. I’ve just recently been introduced to the term “Crone Lit” and I love it. Not only that, I’m already reading Becoming Crone.

There you go. Two bundles of books for a fabulous price. If you need some fiction to help keep you sane for the holiday season, I’ve got you covered.

Shadowrun: Magic, Machines, and Mayhem, co-edited with John Helfers, is my 24th edited anthology. The pre-order link for the anthology is live. (Released on 20 Sep 2024.) This anthology is also my first official edited thing as an Editor-at-Large for Catalyst Game Labs. What a beautiful cover and just look at that Table of Contents!

Introduction by John Helfers
“An Apple a Day” by Bryan CP Steele
“Beer and Waffles” by R. L. King
“Licensed to Die” by Bryan Young
“Night Shades” by Jason M. Hardy
“To Fix a Broken Heart” by Marie Bilodeau
“The Price of Art” by Andrew Peregrine
“A Tale for Munchausen’s Merriment” by Jennifer Brozek
“Life at 9000 RPM” by RJ Thomas
“Out of Dodge and Into the Fire” by Ken’ Horner
“A Casual Glance” by Dylan Birtolo
“Dog Days” by Aaron Rosenberg
“One Night in Bellevue” by Crystal Frasier
“Can’t Trust a Trickster” by Alina Pete
“The Wastelands Speak” by Jaym Gates
“Where the Heart Is” by Michael A. Stackpole
“Incidents, Accidents, and Consequences” by Russell Zimmerman

I will note that I am not usually in the ToC of an anthology I’ve edited but I wrote the story and got it accepted before John brought me on as an official co-editor.

Awards: This year, I have two Scribe Award nominations. The first is for short story: Valdemar – “Needs Must When Evil Bides.” The second is for Shadowrun: Auditions, the first novel in The Mosaic Run duology. I am particularly chuffed about the short story nom. It’s been a donkey’s age since that’s happened. Also, it’s always a thrill to be mentioned in Locus magazine.

GoFundMe: One Booth to Record Them All. Pretty Please. Tren is on tap to record the Shadowrun: Elfin Black audiobook. Help him get to it faster! (Also, help his sleep schedule and his health and to future proof his career.)

MailerLite: I have a new newsletter group that I will be transitioning to over the next few months. You can check it out directly from my new website (look at the top of this page). Get a free story when you sign up!

Publication: Raven Oak and I have a co-written story in the Gen Con anthology, Interdimensions. It is called “Eye of the Beholder.” I really like this story. It’s crime story with a hint of magical realism.

Publication: My fourth Shadowrun novel, Shadowrun: The Mosaic Run, has been released! While it is the sequel to Shadowrun: Auditions, it can be read as a standalone novel.

Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

I am a duck right now. Smooth and serene on the top and paddling like mad underneath. It’s been a busy six weeks since I blogged—for good reason. It’s that whole you only see 10% of the iceberg thing.

First, there was Origins Game Fair. It was a good convention where I was a dealer and a panelist. Plus, I had many meetings where new projects were planned out. It’s one of my favorite things to do—meeting up with my editors and authors face-to-face. Unfortunately, long work conventions are exhausting. Also, we came home with an unwanted guest: Covid.

Despite masking and air purifiers and hand washing/sanitizers, I caught Covid. I’m not sure exactly where or when, but by Sunday evening of the convention, I felt like hell—which means I had to have been contagious for 1-3 days. Be it an errant button press or a handshake and then forgetting to sanitize, or being coughed on (there were a LOT of coughing people at Origins), after four years of diligence, my number was up.

I got Paxlovid on Tuesday after the convention, and we were hoping that it had passed the Husband by, but no such luck. By Thursday the 27th, he was sick. He got his Paxlovid on the same day. We had diametrically opposed reactions to Covid. I felt better as of the 2nd day of the meds and started testing negative as soon as the five days of Paxlovid was done. The Husband on the other hand, tested positive for Covid for almost two full weeks after he finished the meds and even had a rebound where he started feeling better, but then got much worse.

“A simple cold” my ass. We spent three full weeks living on separate levels of the house, running the air purifiers, and masking. It was like living with a roommate you barely tolerate. It sucked. Seriously. The Husband’s asthma is still acting up. Needless to say, we will be masked for Gen Con.

While we were suffering from Covid, life continued on. We’d contracted with Catio Spaces for a custom catio as our 16th wedding anniversary to us and our kitties. It’s lovely. Big enough for chairs for us to lounge in. Leeloo loves the catio. She demands it be opened in the morning and spends most of the day out there. Mena also likes it, but not like Leeloo. She’ll wander out there every other day or so.

Finally, the main reason there hasn’t been a blog post in six weeks is the fact that I have a brand new website. After 20+ years of hand coding my website with raw HTML, I decided it was time for a change and hired Caro from GoCreate.me, a terrifyingly competent and efficient web developer. Caro is amazing, and you should hire her if you want a new website with all the bells and whistles. There are so many new things to learn!

There’s more to do on the website, but the bulk of the fit and finish is done. Also, if you want to send me a postal letter or donate books to my TARDIS Little Free Library, I have a new PO Box address:

Jennifer Brozek
P.O. Box 121
Bothell, WA 98041

So, what to you think? Do you like my new website?

Oh yeah. I’ve been nominated for two Scribe awards! One for Shadowrun: Auditions (YA/MG novel) and one for Valdemar: “Needs Must When Evil Bides” (Short story). I’m particularly pleased with the short story nomination. It’s been forever since one of my shorts has been nominated.

One of my editor friends declared it “Jennifer Brozek Publication Day” as I have not one but two new releases today! As an author, Shadowrun: Auditions has been released in ebook and paperback! As an editor, 99 Fleeting Fantasies anthology has also been released in ebook and paperback. It is a good day. (How to get physical books signed by me.)

Shadowrun: Auditions UBL

FOUR SECRET AUDITIONS…

Fixer BlotterBabe must have exactly the right actors for a production that requires very specialized talent. The actors must not only be skilled, they need to have the right attitude and an ability to adapt to extraordinary circumstances.

A Kiss to Die For: Kintsugi and Sartorial choose love over duty, but their respective families will do everything in their considerable power to stop them from being together.

See How She Runs: Terrapin witnesses a murder and is handed a package destined for some important and lethal people. Now she is running for her life.

Unrepairable: Landon and Liana love vexing megacorps for fun and profit with their Matrix show. Unfortunately, the megacorps always play dirty, and will do whatever’s required to shut them down for good.

The Kilimanjaro Run: Charlotte, Neema, and Elijah embark on an unexpected adventure that turns into a nightmare when they discover nothing is what it seems. They are left with no choice at all when choosing between the abhorrent and the right thing to do.

FOR THE MOST DANGEROUS RUN OF ALL…

Having auditioned thousands, BlotterBabe is out of time. It’s come down to these few teenagers. Either they will save the day or lose it all…

“Cons, lies, double-crosses, flat-out thievery—all the fun stuff. Auditions reads like that great first act of a heist movie. Everyone’s showing off their particular set of skills while Brozek teases us with threads of what’s to come.” —New York Times bestseller Peter Clines, author of The Broken Room

“Brozek spins a clever introduction into the world of Shadowrun in Auditions. It’s perfect for newcomers, but also showcases shadows that have never been explored yet feel perfectly familiar.” —Crystal Frasier, author of Pathfinder: Spiral of Bones

 
99 Fleeting Fantasies anthology UBL

EVEN A DREAM CAN BE CAUGHT IN PROSE…

There’s nothing better than a moment of whimsy and a dash of the fantastical to get the mind wandering. 99 Fleeting Fantasies is a flash fiction anthology readers can tiptoe through for a bit of wonder or while away an afternoon as they meander from old-time tales to far-flung fables to serious snippets of legend and lore that come from all over the world, including Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, and the United States.

Featuring stories from the imaginative minds of Cat Rambo, Charles Stross, Crystal Frasier, Jody Lynn Nye, Jonathan Maberry, Premee Mohamed, Seanan McGuire, Wole Talabi, and many more!

(Aug 22 update – It’s live and in the wild now!)

My fourth YA Shadowrun novella, The Kilimanjaro Run (Amazon link), is available for pre-order right now and will be released on August 22nd. I had so much fun with this novella. I think this cover (by Jori Bolton) is one of my favorite to date. It is so good. I mean, see for yourself.

Pre-Order Shadowrun: The Kilimanjaro Run here from your favorite ebook shop. (Books2Read link)

AN UNEXPECTED ADVENTURE…
Charlotte lives with her expatriate family in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. While visiting her best friend Neema, a hippopotamus shaman, a commotion next door interrupts their weekend plans. Neema’s older cousin has been arrested, leaving her younger cousin Elijah responsible for a “job.” Charlotte insists on helping Elijah complete what seems like a simple task: drop off a car in a parking lot. Simple, easy, and doesn’t piss off the wrong people, right? Reluctantly, Neema agrees, and they set off.

On the road, they get a message from BlotterBabe, a known fixer, that they aren’t just delivering a car—they’re perpetrating a horrendous crime. Together, the trio must make a choice to do the job as they were told—and keep their cousin out of trouble with the worst of society—or do the right thing.

In the end, there is no choice. Charlotte, Neema, and Elijah do the only thing they can do: make a run for it…and hope they’re not too late to save a strange visitor to their world…not to mention themselves.

“The Kilimanjaro Run is a wildly entertaining story that takes us on a supernatural road trip from the urban sprawl of Dar es Salaam to the rocky slopes of Africa’s tallest mountain with a motley and lovable group of characters. It’s thoughtful, it’s fun, it’s The Transporter meets E.T. set in the fascinating world of Shadowrun served with a healthy portion of its own special sauce. Readers are in for a good time.” ~Wole Talabi (author of Shigidi And The Brass Head Of Obalufon)